GEOLOGICAL MAPS, TOPOGRAPHIC MAPS,

OUTCROP PATTERNS, and STRUCTURE CONTOURS

An introduction to the interplay between geology and

landforms in two- and three dimensions

Sources:
NJ Geological Survey
US Geological Survey
Rider/PDFs/Lisle Geol Struct and Maps.pdf

Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 1

1. What are geological maps?

Geological maps represent the expression

on the earth’s surface of the underlying
geological structure. For this reason the
ability to correctly interpret the
relationships displayed on a geological
map relies heavily on a knowledge of the
basic principles of structural geology. A
geological map shows the distribution of
various types of bedrock or thick sediment
in an area. It usually consists of a
topographic map (a map giving
information about the form of the earth’s
surface) which is overlain by shaded or
colored polygons that show where
different rock units occur at or just below
the ground surface. An aquifer map
portrays geological formations with
respect to their ability to store and
transmit groundwater.

Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 2

 Rider/PDFs/Lisle Geol Struct and Maps.pdf
2. How is such a geological map made?

“The geologist in the field firstly records the

nature of rock where it is visible at the surface.
Rock outcrops are examined and characteristics
such as rock composition, internal structure and
fossil content are recorded. By using these
details, different units can be distinguished and
shown separately on the base map. Of course,
rocks are not everywhere exposed at the surface.
In fact, over much of the area in Fig. 1.1 rocks are
covered by soil and by alluvial deposits laid down
by recent rivers.
Deducing the rock unit which underlies the areas
of unexposed rock involves making use of
additional data such as the type of soil, the land’s
surface forms (geomorphology) and information
from boreholes. Geophysical methods allow certain physical properties of rocks (such as their
magnetism and density) to be measured remotely, and are therefore useful for mapping rocks in
poorly exposed regions. This additional information is taken into account when the geologist
decides on the position of the boundaries of rock units to be drawn on the map. Nevertheless,
there are always parts of the map where more uncertainty exists about the nature of the bedrock,
and it is important for the reader of the map to realize that a good deal of interpretation is used in
the mapmaking process.” Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide.
Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 3
3. What is a geological map used for?

The most obvious use of a geological map is to

indicate the nature of the near-surface bedrock.
This is clearly of great importance to civil
engineers who, for example, have to advise on
the excavation of road cuttings or on the siting of
bridges; to geographers studying the use of land
and to companies exploiting minerals. The
experienced geologist can, however, extract more
from the geological map. To the trained observer
the features on a geological map reveal vital clues
about the geological history of an area.

Furthermore, the bands of color on a geological

map are the expression on the ground surface of
layers or sheets of rock which extend and slant
downwards into the crust of the earth. The often
intricate pattern on a map, like the graininess of a
polished wooden table top, provides tell-tale
evidence of the structure of the layers beneath
the surface. To make these deductions first
requires knowledge of the characteristic form of
common geological structures such as faults and
folds. Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 4
4. Outcrop patterns of uniformly dipping
beds

In some areas the sediments exposed on

the surface of the earth still show their
unmodified sedimentary structure; that is,
the bedding is still approximately
horizontal. In other parts of the world,
especially those in ancient mountain belts,
the structure of the layering is dominated
by the buckling of the strata into
corrugations or folds so that the slope of
the bedding varies from place to place.
Folds, which are these crumples of the
crust’s layering, together with faults where
the beds are broken and shifted, are
examples of complex geological structures
that we will work with later. Here, we first
consider planar beds with a uniform slope
brought about by the tilting of originally
horizontal sedimentary rocks.

Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide. Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 5
 Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide.
5. Representing surfaces on maps

The geological map in Fig. 2.9A shows the

areal distribution of two rock formations.
The line on the map separating the
formations has an irregular shape even
though the contact between the formations
is a planar surface (Fig. 2.9B). To understand
the shapes described by the boundaries of
formations on geological maps it is
important to realize that they represent a
line (horizontal, plunging or curved)
produced by the intersection in three
dimensions of two surfaces (Fig. 2.9B, D).
One of these surfaces is the ‘geological
surface’ – in this example the surface of
contact between the two formations. The
other is the ‘topographic surface’ – the
surface of the ground. The topographic
surface is not planar but has features such
as hills, valleys and ridges. As the block
diagram in Fig. 2.9B shows, it is these
irregularities or topographic features which
produce the sinuous trace of geological
contacts we observe on maps. If, for
example, the ground surface were planar
(Fig. 2.9D), the contacts would run as
straight lines on the map (Fig. 2.9C). Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 6
5. Representing surfaces on maps

The extent to which topography

influences the form of contacts
depends also on the angle of dip of the
beds. Where beds dip at a gentle
angle, valleys and ridges produce
pronounced ‘meanders’ (Fig. 2.10A, B).
Where beds dip steeply the course of
the contact is straighter on the map
(Fig. 2.10C, D, E, F). When contacts are
vertical their course on the map will be
a straight line following the direction
of the strike of the contact.

Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and

Maps, A practical Guide.

Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 7

6. Properties of contour maps

In the previous section two types of surface were

mentioned: the geological (or structural) surface
and the ground (topographic) surface. It is
possible to describe the form of either type on a
map. The surface shown in Fig. 2.11B can be
represented on a map if the heights of all points
on the surface are specified on the map. This is
usually done by stating, with a number, the
elevation of individual points such as that of point
X (a spot height) and by means of lines drawn on
the map which join all points which share the
same height (Fig. 2.11A). The latter are contour
lines and are drawn usually for a fixed interval of
height. Topographic maps depict the shape of the
ground usually by means of topographic contours.
Structure contours record the height of geological
surfaces.

Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide. Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 8
 7a. V-shaped outcrop patterns

A dipping surface that crops out in a valley or on a ridge

will give rise to a V-shaped outcrop (Fig. 2.17). The way
the outcrop patterns vee depends on the dip of the
geological surface relative to the topography. In the case
of valleys, patterns vee upstream or downstream (Fig.
2.17). The rule for determining the dip from the type of
vee (the ‘V rule’) is easily remembered if one considers
the intermediate case (Fig. 2.17D) where the outcrop
vees in neither direction. This is the situation where the
dip is equal to the gradient of the valley bottom. As soon
as we tilt the beds away from this critical position they
will start to exhibit a V-shape. If we visualize the bed to
be rotated slightly upstream it will start to vee upstream,
at first veeing more sharply than the topographic
contours defining the valley (Fig. 2.17C). The bed can be
tilted still further upstream until it becomes horizontal.
Horizontal beds always yield outcrop patterns which
parallel the topographic contours and hence, the beds
still vee upstream (Fig. 2.17B). If the bed is tilted further
again upstream, the beds start to dip upstream and we
retain a V-shaped outcrop but now the vee is more
‘blunt’ than the vee exhibited by the topographic
contours (Fig. 2.17A). Downstream-pointing vees are
produced when the beds dip downstream more steeply
than the valley gradient (Fig. 2.17E). Finally, vertical beds
have straight outcrop courses and do not vee (Fig. 2.17F).
Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide. Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 9
7b. V-shaped outcrop patterns

WORKED EXAMPLE

Complete the outcrop of the thin limestone bed

exposed in the northwest part of the area (Fig. 2.18A).
The dip of the bed is 10° towards 220° (220/10).

This type of problem is frequently encountered by geological

mappers. On published geological maps all contacts are shown.
However, rocks are not everywhere exposed. Whilst mapping, a
few outcrops are found at which contacts are visible and where
dips can be measured, but the rest of the map is based on
interpretation. The following technique can be used to interpret
the map. Using the known dip, construct structure contours for
the thin bed. These will run parallel to the measured strike and,
for a contour interval of 10 metres, will have a spacing given by
this equation (see Section 2.9).

Contour spacing = (contour interval / Tangent (angle of dip))

Since the outcrop of the bed in the northwest part of the map is at
a height of 350 metres, the 350 metre structure contour must pass
through this point. Others are drawn parallel at the calculated
spacing. The crossing points of the topographic contours with the
structure contours of the same height, yield points which lie on
the outcrop of the thin limestone bed. The completed outcrop of
the thin limestone bed is shown in Fig. 2.18B.
Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide. Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 10
Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide.
8a. Structure Contour Maps

Earlier we considered surfaces described by contours. If, instead of

contours, a number of spot heights are given for a surface, then it is
possible to infer the form of the contours. This is desirable since
surfaces represented by contours are easier to visualize. The number of
spot heights required to make a sensible estimate of the form of the
contour lines depends on the complexity of the surface. For a surface
which is planar, a minimum of three spot heights are required.

A sandstone-shale contact encountered at three localities A, B and C on

Figure 1 has heights of 150, 100 and 175 m respectively. Assuming that
the contact is planar, draw structure contours for the
sandstone-shale contact.

Consider an imaginary vertical section along line AB on the map. In that

section the contact will appear as a straight line since it is the line of
intersection of two planes: the planar geological contact and the
section plane. Furthermore, in that vertical section the line
representing the contact will pass through the points A and B at their
respective heights (Fig. 3). The height of the contact decreases at a
constant rate as we move from A to B. This allows us to predict the
place along line AB where the surface will have a specified height (Fig.
2). For instance, the contact will have a height of 125 m at the mid-
point between A (height equals 150 m) and B (height equals 100 m). In
this way we also locate the point D along AB which has the same height
as the third point C (175 m). In a section along the line CD the contact
will appear horizontal. Line CD is therefore parallel to the horizontal or
strike line in the surface. We call CD the 175 me structure contour for
the surface. Other structure contours for other heights will be parallel
to this, and will be equally spaced on the map. The 100 m contour must Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 11
pass through B.
 Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide.
8b. Structure Contour Maps

Outcrop patterns of geological surfaces exposed on the ground

We have seen how both the land surface and a geological surface (such as a
junction between two formations) can be represented by contour maps. The
line on a geological map representing the contact of two formations marks
the intersection of these two surfaces. The form of this line on the map can
be predicted if the contour patterns defining the topography and the
geological surface are known, since along the line of intersection both
surfaces will have equal height.

A rule to remember: A geological surface crops out at points where

it has the same height as the ground surface.

WORKED EXAMPLE
Given topographic contours and structure contours for a planar coal seam
(Fig. A) predict the map outcrop pattern of the coal seam.

Points are sought on the map where structure contours intersect a

topographic contour of the same elevation. A series of points is obtained in
this way through which the line of outcrop of the coal seam must pass
(Fig. B). This final stage of joining the points to form a surface outcrop would
seem in places to be somewhat arbitrary with the lines labeled p and q in Fig.
B appearing equally possible. However p is incorrect, since the line of outcrop
cannot cross the 150 m structure contour unless there is a point along it at
which the ground surface has a height of 150 m.

Another rule to remember: The line of outcrop of a geological

surface crosses a structure contour for the surface only at points
Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 12
where the ground height matches that of the structure contour.
8c. Structure Contour Maps

Buried and eroded parts of a geological surface

The thin coal seam in the previous example only occurs at the ground
surface along a single line. The surface at other points on the map (a
point not on the line of outcrop) is either buried (beneath ground level)
or eroded (above ground level). The line of outcrop in Fig. B divides the
map into two kinds of areas:

(a) areas where height (coal) > height (topography), so that the surface
can be thought to have existed above the present topography but has
since been eroded away, and (b) areas where height (coal) < height
(topography) so that the coal must exist below the topography, i.e. it is
buried. The boundary line between these two types of areas is given by
the line of outcrop, i.e. where height (coal) = height
(topography).

WORKED EXAMPLE

Using the data on Fig. A shade the part of the area where the coal has
been eroded.

The outcrop line of the coal forms the boundary of the area underlain by
coal. The sought area is where the contours for the topography show
lower values than the contours of the coal.

Richard J Lisle, Geological Structures and Maps, A practical Guide. Rider Structural Geology 310 2012 GCHERMAN 13